Unrest in China Disrupts a Summit in Italy

Chinese soldiers march on the streets of Urumqi in China's far west Xinjiang province on July 8, 2009.
(Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

As Han and Uighur Chinese battle each other in a flare up of ancient ethnic tensions, the flashpoint city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang province has been filled with Chinese soldiers trying to quell the violence. The unrest, which may be the worst since the Cultural Revolution, prompted Chinese President Hu Jintao to leave the G8 meeting in Italy to attend to the situation. For the latest, The Takeaway is joined by Ted Plafker, a correspondent in the Beijing Bureau of The Economist who is in Urumqi, China, and Yuwen Wu, the editor of the BBC's Mandarin service.